Thrift-shopping Adventure

If you were to take a quick look around your house, I bet you'll find at least one thing that came from a thrift store.

I believe that the weirdest and coolest things one could ever have in their house come from shopping secondhand—and most likely will show up when you are not even looking. That's the beauty of thrift stores—they are full of weird, wonderful, and unexpected treasures that you will (most likely) encounter but once in a lifetime! I never leave the thrift stores empty-handed—there’s always something special waiting for me.

It turns out that many fellow MCAD students share my love of thrifting, so I reached out to a few to see if they could dish on the best stores to hit up and share their most treasured thrifted item.

Fellow thrifters, where should we head on our next adventure?

If you're currently in Minneapolis, consider checking out sophomore illustration major Riley Wright’s suggestion: Buffalo Exchange. This is one of the most popular thrift stores near MCAD—and it’s just an18 minute walk from campus. b. Resale, located next to Glam Doll Donuts, is another favorite of on-campus MCADians. Riley shares, “b. Resale has some funk going on that I’d love to explore more!” And what a perfect duo: delicious donuts and beautiful thrifted goods.

If you're in Minnesota and lives far away from Minneapolis, then worries not because Madalyn Emerson, who is a comic major, has a few thrift stores pinned down on her map that she loves to visit. Check out a store called Tusen Tack if you're in Braham, it's her favorite place. If not, there's the Shalom Thrift Store down in Cambridge, and also a place called One More Time in Mora.

However, if you're currently not in Minnesota, you’ve not missed out. There are countless places for you to visit and do some thrifting on your own, a few to name are Goodwill, the Salvation Army Family Store, or Savers. Shelley Russom, a current illustration major, and creative writing minor student mention that they like to hit up virtual thrift shopping places like eBay and Poshmark too. Furthermore, don't forget to double-check for locally owned thrift stores too, those places tend to have the best deals.

What is your most treasured thrifted find?

Illustration student Vivian Steckline has found many great treasures from South Dakota thrift store trips with her mom. A few of the things she looks for are fun patterned wine glasses, apparel, jewelry, and artist and vintage books. Vivian says she once found an artist-bound book from the 1940s with original etched prints by Dalí—how cool is that? Though it seems Vivian is the proud owner of many great secondhand finds, she says her most treasured items are “two original foil fairy works from the 1970s by Michelle Emblem.” They look wondrous and they're estimated to be worth around $2,000 each!

Speaking of wondrous and whimsical finds, Madalyn Emerson describes her favorite thrift store find: “a cat/human statue in an old dress that also has a music box that plays “Memories” from Cats. I can find no info about it online. Her name is Caroline and I love her.”

Thrift shopping is also useful for inspiring ideas and creating your next project at MCAD. Riley Wright plans to hit up secondhand stores soon in hopes of finding a mirror to use for her Ideation and Process class. I can't tell you how many times I have found wonderful art supplies and beautiful notebooks while thrift-shopping.

What essentially every thrift store has in abundance is clothing. This is a great way to express yourself with a unique style and save money at the same time — as well as find a large variety of options. Veteran thrifter Vivian shares that when she was in high school, she always ended up with the coolest dresses for school dances because they were uniquely found from thrift stores. Shelley often scours the clothing racks at thrift stores as well. “I found the ugliest fleece jacket with deer on it for $3 and I love it,” she says.

Part of the reason why thrift shopping is so magical is that it's made up of memories and fragments of life from other humans. People might be attracted to the item because of what it’s worth or how it looks, which is reasonable, but it’s also indisputable that the most attractive feature about thrifted items is how they have a certain history and story for themself. The most wonderful things tend to show up at thrift stores—and usually, the best treasures you’ll find are the ones you were never looking for.